Wheel-rim.



, No. 841,801* PATBNTED JAN. 22, 1907.

T. MIDG'LEY,

WHEEL RIM. APPLIMTION FILED APR.29.1905.

@WW1/mosca edges being brought together on the unirsi) srAT-Rs lTHOMASinnemen or HARTFORD. vcoxNEO'ii-eu'r, AssreRORirofrii-iii HARTFORD RUBBER WORKS COMPANY, A -OORPORATiONWoR eene techwr,

To aJ/Z whom, it concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MIDGLEY, a citizen I'of the United Stat-es,- residing in the cityofHartford county of Hartford, and

particularly to rims adapted for use in' conf necti'onwith rubber tires, whether matie, cushion, or solid types.

ofpneu- *Theprincipal object of the invention to provide a novel construction of wheel-rim in which the qualities of strength, lightness, and cheapness are present in striking degree.

A further object of the invention is to produce a hollow rim of sheet metal in which the parts are securely held without brazing, 'soldering, or welding.'

.With the objects above stated and others in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in a novel vconstruction of rim which isillustrated'in two slightly different forms in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and has the novel features thereof clearly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse section through the rim before the seam has been completed.' v Fig.'2 'is a transverse section through the rim after the completion of the seam, but before the ends are joined. Fi 3 is a transverse section through the rim on the line 3 3 of Fig. 6, showing the mode of joining the ends. Fig. 4 is a transverse section' on the line 4 4 of Fig. 6, showing the reinforcement of the rim where the tire-valve passes through it. Fig. 5 isa'transverse section through a rim having a somewhat different seam from that shown in the other iigures.` Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the rim at the junction of the ends where the opening for the tire-valve is formed. 1

Referring to the drawings, in which correspending parts are designated by similar characters of reference, 1 designates a strip of sheet metal of suitable gage from which the rim is formed. The strip l of metal 'is shaped b means of gang-rolls into the form desired-suc'h, for example, as that indicated in the several figures of under v Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 29, 1905.- Serial No.' 258,128.

the drawings-the- WHEEL-nim'.

i. side or wheel-face2 ofthegriinafThenlthe e edges are joined in ascent, these'amlisflatinto the open space 3 withintherinrferthat purpose, and the mandrel is thenfwithdrawn, 'sothat the rim maybebentaroundfa suitable form to' bring the ends together; s'o'thattlrey mayjoin. f .es

In the rim illustrated in Fi g'sg'i ,.12 ,23 ,andi'g the together and then .turned''away -finiti-"eefch other to form` Aoppositelvproj"e ':t in`gflanges, over which the narrow'stripl' of crimped to securethe edges'foffth membeil in position. Y'After the? vstrip' lha's been applied, asindicated inFig 1'-ainadrelflof suitable cross-section is'-introducediinto the space 3 within the rim, and pressure is applied to the strip 'to flatten the same, as

shown in Fig. 2, thus leaving the inner or Wheel-face of the rim substantially flat transversely. l

After the seam is formed and flattened the mandrel is withdrawn from the interior of the rim, and it is next bent around a suitable form, the rim having previously been cut to the proper length, and the ends of the rim are joined. The joining of the ends of the rim maybe accomplished in any suitable manner;

but I prefer to inserta filling-piece 6 into both 3, and the metal of both thicknesses of the rim is pressed into the countersunk portions of the rivetheles,

strong connection 'rim proper and the between the metal of the iiilingepiece and lessening the rim. A

The form ofrirn illustrated 1n Fig. 5 is similar to that above described in all-respects eX- cept the seam, which dispenses with th'e lbind-l tened on a suitable mandrel which isfinsertedi edges 4 of the strip ofv sheet iietalfare'brought deepiy countersunk, as clearly shown in Fig.

the liability of the rivets to tear the metal of ends and to secure the filling-piece in position thus affording a very-- IOC vzo able seat for a resilient tire, and it is intended ing-strip shown in the preceding figures. In the construction of the rim shown in Fig. a strip of sheet metal may pass through a gang rolling-mill and be converted into substan- 5 tially the form shown in F ig. 5, the edges not being interlocked, as shown in that figure. The edges of the strip are, however, bent, so as to interlock when brought into engagement, and the nature of the lock so formed is clearly xo indicated in Fig. 5. The formation of a seam of this character, like that already described, requires the use of a suitable mandrel, which is introduced into the space Within the rim, and the bead is then flattened. The rim is then ready for bending and for joining the s ends together in the manner above described. In the rims illustrated the construction shown is such that side anges are required in connection with the lrim to afford-a suitthat the invention be principally embodied in rims of this character. It is, however, evident that rims of other types may be made in accord with the present invention, and I do z 5 not, therefore, limit myself to the exact types of rims shown and described, but reserve the right to make changes therein such as Will not exceed the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what ters Patent, is`

1. A tubular wheel-rim of milch greater Width than thickness formed of a piece of sheet metal folded longitudinally upon itself to present separate thicknesses for the wheel-face I claim as new. and desire to secure by Let- I and tire-face and .having the edges of the Imajoined by Ameans of a solid filling-piece 'in' closed in the interior of the rim and extending into both ends thereof, the filling-piece being secured in position by means of rivets passing through the filling-piece and the mae terial inclosing it, and the metal of the rim being forced into countersunk rivet-holes in the filling-piece.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name in the presence of two Witnesses.

THOMAS MIDGLEY. Witnesses:

WILLIAM SEWARD, Jr.,

ALEX. O. HoLRoYD. 

